Federal Lawmakers Facing Deadline To Prevent Government Shutdown

The House seemed to be on the verge Wednesday of passing a short-term funding agreement to keep the government operating, while negotiators work around the clock to iron out a longer-term spending deal before Christmas. With the current funding agreement set to expire at midnight Friday, Congress has to do something to avoid a shutdown.

"A year-long omnibus is by far the best option we have," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Wednesday morning.

And Sen. Schumer said it's a realistic option, with bipartisan House and Senate appropriators announcing Tuesday night they'd reached an agreement on the framework for an omnibus spending bill, but saying they still needed time to work out some specifics.

"So, we're going to have to pass a one-week continuing resolution ASAP," said Schumer. "The House is set to act on a one-week C.R. as soon as tonight."

Republican leadership in the Senate appears to be on board, saying the budget framework keeps Democratic spending in check, while delivering a win for GOP priorities.

"I'm glad that our Democratic colleagues finally accepted reality," said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on the Senate floor Wednesday, "and conceded to the Republican position -- we need to prioritize our national security."

But GOP leaders in the House are not on board and were calling on Republican members to reject the deal and give them a chance to more significantly influence the spending priorities when they assume the majority next month.

"Let's let the American people have their say," said House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) Wednesday afternoon. "Let's do our spending bill in the next quarter."

"Leader McCarthy has been very outspoken that we’re not going to support an omni on the Republican side of the House," said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK3) in an interview Wednesday.

Rep. Hern said his preference is to pass a continuing resolution that keeps the government funded at current levels until early in 2023.

"So that we can get into our appropriations season in the majority," said Hern, "and start putting budgets out, passing budgets in the appropriations process like it’s supposed to be, which is what I’ve been calling for since I’ve been here. Let’s get back to what is known as regular order so that we don’t have these fights.

The last time Congress passed a budget in regular order was more than 25 years ago. Both Republicans and Democrats have increasingly relied on continuing resolutions and omnibus packages to fund the government. Congressman Hern has said he is hoping to change that.